Country context

Approximately half of all households in Namibia do not yet have access to modern and affordable electricity services. These households are predominately lower-income households located in peri-urban and rural areas. Due to the unique geographic and demographic characteristics of Namibia, expanding electricity access to more remote and lower-population density areas increases the electricity infrastructure costs while ability to pay for service diminishes, resulting in increasing difficulties for existing electricity service providers to recover the cost of investments in electrification expansion.

In 2022, the National Electrification Policy (NELP) was approved, articulating Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) support for electrification expansion and confirming the goal of achieving universal access to electricity by employing a combination of grid and off-grid technology solutions to power households and businesses. The results from 2022 geospatial least cost electrification plan (GLCEP) study indicated that achieving universal access by 2030 will require providing electricity services to approximately 432,000 existing and future households, of which approximately 80% will be connected via a grid densification or grid expansion method, while the remaining 20% will need to be accommodated via off-grid solutions. This program of grid and off-grid investment was estimated to come at an approximate cost of N$ 13.4 billion. However, due to multiple challenges to electrification access including financing, human resource and limitations of off-grid service provider capacity, among others, this original target was not achievable, and MME has extended the universal access target to achieved by 2040 with a mix of grid expansion and off-grid technologies. 

The National Electrification Funding Portfolio (NELFP) provides a well-defined structure through which conventional electrification projects can be financed by the GRN with contributions from general financiers. The role of NELFP is to aggregate in an Electrification Fund electrification funding from the Government, state-owned enterprises, and end-user levies; attract private capital to co-finance electrification efforts; to leverage GRN electrification by attracting DFI and climate-related financing; and to encourage electrification investments by Namibian distribution licensees by co-financing electrification projects to render project costs commercially acceptable. In addition to providing flexibility to finance off-grid electrification requirements with specialized green financing mechanisms, there will also very likely be a need to address affordability limitations for low-income service connections for new grid consumers. Options include setting connection fees at a level that reflects the cost of registration only, capitalizing all service materials and labor to be recovered through tariffs; alternatively, NELFP resources could also be allocated for service connection subsidies to be allocated to qualifying, low-income households in coordination with the REDs, NamPower and other service providers. The Electrification Fund Manager will design and manage co-financing mechanisms, incentive programs and subsidy programs to address affordability issues, while concurrently coordinating with the regulator Electricity Control Board (ECB) to determine how co-financing will be recognized in the ECB tariff setting process.

The World Bank is supporting the government’s target to achieve universal access by 2040 through a suite of intertwined analytical work comprising a geospatial least cost electrification plan (GLCEP) and a National Electrification Strategy (NES) to evaluate the technologies, costs and means by which Namibia can reach this objective. The World Bank is also supporting the Government of Namibia (GRN) to conduct an affordability study to establish the energy access baseline (including both access to electricity and clean cooking solutions) to inform a concrete sustainable electrification business model to implement the outcomes of the GLCEP and the NES, which is under development. This World Bank engagement is expected to lead to an energy access operation under the next phase of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eastern and Southern Africa Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach Phase (ASCENT MPA) (P180547) to contribute to finance the National Electrification Fund detailed below.

Objectives of the assignment

Pillar IV of the GRN National Electrification Strategy is to establish the National Electrification Fund, the role of which is to ensure that there is sufficient financing allocated to achieve access targets in accordance with the NELFP. As such, the World Bank is seeking the assistance of a financial advisor with dual expertise in structured finance and national electrification program development to inform and support the Bank’s ongoing electrification dialogue by providing: (i) Review of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework related to the electrification sector and establishment of the fund (ii) the construction of the preliminary fund portfolio with the independent structures for grid and off grid financing (iii); the design of off-grid co-financing and incentive programs for private sector participation; (iv) the development of capital mobilization strategy and construction of fund cash waterfall based on investor risk appetite and various sector scenarios; (v) support to operationalization of the National Electrification Fund by MME. The envisaged consultancy will also cover the provision of just-in-time advisory and market analysis support to expand the knowledge frameworks and models for scaling up electrification in Namibia, leveraging private sector to the extent possible. 

Scope of Work

• Task 1: Review of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework related to the electrification sector and establishment of the fund.
• Task 2: Construction of the preliminary fund portfolio with the independent structures for grid and off grid financing.
• Task 3: Design off-grid co-financing and incentive programs for private sector participation.
• Task 4: Development of capital mobilization strategy and construction of the fund cash waterfall based on the investor risk appetite and various sector scenarios.
• Task 5: Support operationalization of the National Electrification Fund by MME.

SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

Electronic Submissions through WBGeProcure RFx Now

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Assignment Title: [Namibia] FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR NATIONAL ELECTRIFICATION FUND

Assignment Countries:

• Namibia

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Country context

Approximately half of all households in Namibia do not yet have access to modern and affordable electricity services. These households are predominately lower-income households located in peri-urban and rural areas. Due to the unique geographic and demographic characteristics of Namibia, expanding electricity access to more remote and lower-population density areas increases the electricity infrastructure costs while ability to pay for service diminishes, resulting in increasing difficulties for existing electricity service providers to recover the cost of investments in electrification expansion.

In 2022, the National Electrification Policy (NELP) was approved, articulating Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) support for electrification expansion and confirming the goal of achieving universal access to electricity by employing a combination of grid and off-grid technology solutions to power households and businesses. The results from 2022 geospatial least cost electrification plan (GLCEP) study indicated that achieving universal access by 2030 will require providing electricity services to approximately 432,000 existing and future households, of which approximately 80% will be connected via a grid densification or grid expansion method, while the remaining 20% will need to be accommodated via off-grid solutions. This program of grid and off-grid investment was estimated to come at an approximate cost of N$ 13.4 billion. However, due to multiple challenges to electrification access including financing, human resource and limitations of off-grid service provider capacity, among others, this original target was not achievable, and MME has extended the universal access target to achieved by 2040 with a mix of grid expansion and off-grid technologies.

The National Electrification Funding Portfolio (NELFP) provides a well-defined structure through which conventional electrification projects can be financed by the GRN with contributions from general financiers. The role of NELFP is to aggregate in an Electrification Fund electrification funding from the Government, state-owned enterprises, and end-user levies; attract private capital to co-finance electrification efforts; to leverage GRN electrification by attracting DFI and climate-related financing; and to encourage electrification investments by Namibian distribution licensees by co-financing electrification projects to render project costs commercially acceptable. In addition to providing flexibility to finance off-grid electrification requirements with specialized green financing mechanisms, there will also very likely be a need to address affordability limitations for low-income service connections for new grid consumers. Options include setting connection fees at a level that reflects the cost of registration only, capitalizing all service materials and labor to be recovered through tariffs; alternatively, NELFP resources could also be allocated for service connection subsidies to be allocated to qualifying, low-income households in coordination with the REDs, NamPower and other service providers. The Electrification Fund Manager will design and manage co-financing mechanisms, incentive programs and subsidy programs to address affordability issues, while concurrently coordinating with the regulator Electricity Control Board (ECB) to determine how co-financing will be recognized in the ECB tariff setting process.

The World Bank is supporting the government’s target to achieve universal access by 2040 through a suite of intertwined analytical work comprising a geospatial least cost electrification plan (GLCEP) and a National Electrification Strategy (NES) to evaluate the technologies, costs and means by which Namibia can reach this objective. The World Bank is also supporting the Government of Namibia (GRN) to conduct an affordability study to establish the energy access baseline (including both access to electricity and clean cooking solutions) to inform a concrete sustainable electrification business model to implement the outcomes of the GLCEP and the NES, which is under development. This World Bank engagement is expected to lead to an energy access operation under the next phase of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eastern and Southern Africa Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach Phase (ASCENT MPA) (P180547) to contribute to finance the National Electrification Fund detailed below.

Objectives of the assignment

Pillar IV of the GRN National Electrification Strategy is to establish the National Electrification Fund, the role of which is to ensure that there is sufficient financing allocated to achieve access targets in accordance with the NELFP. As such, the World Bank is seeking the assistance of a financial advisor with dual expertise in structured finance and national electrification program development to inform and support the Bank’s ongoing electrification dialogue by providing: (i) Review of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework related to the electrification sector and establishment of the fund (ii) the construction of the preliminary fund portfolio with the independent structures for grid and off grid financing (iii); the design of off-grid co-financing and incentive programs for private sector participation; (iv) the development of capital mobilization strategy and construction of fund cash waterfall based on investor risk appetite and various sector scenarios; (v) support to operationalization of the National Electrification Fund by MME. The envisaged consultancy will also cover the provision of just-in-time advisory and market analysis support to expand the knowledge frameworks and models for scaling up electrification in Namibia, leveraging private sector to the extent possible.

Scope of Work

• Task 1: Review of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework related to the electrification sector and establishment of the fund.
• Task 2: Construction of the preliminary fund portfolio with the independent structures for grid and off grid financing.
• Task 3: Design off-grid co-financing and incentive programs for private sector participation.
• Task 4: Development of capital mobilization strategy and construction of the fund cash waterfall based on the investor risk appetite and various sector scenarios.
• Task 5: Support operationalization of the National Electrification Fund by MME.

FUNDING SOURCE

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following:

• BB: Bank Budget
• TF0C2325: ESMAP

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The World Bank Group invites eligible firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc. for firms; CV and cover letter for individuals). Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents. Where a group of firms associate to submit an EOI, they must indicate which is the lead firm. If shortlisted, the firm identified in the EOI as the lead firm will be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) phase.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through WBGeProcure RFx Now

NOTES

Following this invitation for EOI, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.

Only those firms which have been shortlisted will be invited to participate in the RFP phase. No notification or debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted.

If you encounter technical difficulties while uploading documents, please send an e-mail to the Help Desk at corporateprocurement@worldbank.org prior to the submission deadline.